“A tornado may form at any time. Take cover now.”
— A National Weather Service report on Saturday for Charleston County
The Village Green
Park Circle Goes Gaelic
It was a brilliantly beautiful Saturday afternoon— perfect for outdoor boozing. Park Circle, North Charleston’s little village that could, hosted a St. Patty’s day block party. Inside Madra Rua Irish Pub, Gaelic brogues boomed as what seemed like every Irish expat in the greater Charleston area was there to cheer Ireland on in rugby. The team lost to England, but that didn’t burst the patriotic bubble; in fact, it might have helped boost Madra’s Guinness sales. The Irish know a thing or two about nursing their wounds … Outside children frolicked while parents pushed buggies with one hand and held beers with the other. Besides the hordes of children awkwardly attempting to mount a mechanical bull, the event remained rather tame for the period I was there. And after all that Irish Stew, Guinness, and sunshine, it was time to go home for a much needed nap. —Kinsey Labberton
A More-Than-Decent Farewell
Much-loved local rock band A Decent Animal (Bassist Richard Weld, Pictured) filled the Pour House with well-wishers on Saturday night. They celebrated a new 7″ out on local label Tick Tock Records and, sadly, their final show in Charleston before a move out to San Francisco
A Surprisingly Sedate Affair
Dunnan Gallery hosts Army Wives
The “Stars: They’re Just Like Us” section of Us Weekly is rarely convincing. The similarities cited in it don’t often establish anything more significant than “stars have two eyes and ears — and so do we!” While Us Weekly never really manages to prove the normalcy of stars, attending a cocktail party for the cast and crew of Army Wives, a series on Lifetime currently being filmed in Charleston, certainly did. Entering the John M. Dunnan Gallery on King Street Saturday night, I half expected some sort of security to stop me and demand identification. Nope. I was able to just stroll on in; no guest list, no metal detectors. This easy access, while it should have put me at ease, produced instead a nagging feeling that I was somehow crashing the party — a guilty feeling I couldn’t quite drop for the remainder of the evening. Everyone else at the party, however, was extremely relaxed and — that’s right — normal. Catherine Bell, Army Wives cast member and former JAG star, chatted with friends and her young daughter on a sofa while everyone else milled about, enjoying art and wine. All in all, the party proceeded just as any other Charleston gathering might; the people there were perhaps just a touch more attractive. —Meaghan Strickland
Green Day
Doing a jig at Dunleavy’s
While Sullivan’s Island’s cozy Dunleavy’s Pub blew out most of their St. Patrick’s Day festivities with their annual block party on Saturday, a colorful and boisterous group of locals made it back for the official holiday on Monday. Irish-born singer/guitarist Walter McDonough — a featured musician who’s been playing these annual celebrations for 12 years — wore a bright green kerchief wrapped around his throat; it was sore from a full weekend of crooning and carryin’ on. His sets were mostly melodic Irish folk standards and tavern tunes, many of which inspired even the most inebriated to attempt a jig. By midnight, more than a few stout-drinking dancers ended up on the floor or draped across someone else’s lap or table — a festive scene, indeed. —T. Ballard Lesemann
Crawlin’ on Folly
Open container law takes a holiday
In honor of everyone’s second favorite saint, Folly Beach lifted their open container law on Saturday for a St. Patrick’s day bar crawl down Center Street. Hundreds of revelers in various shades of green (the most done up were the old folks, surprisingly) downed green beer, Irish Car Bombs, and lime Jell-O shots as they visited each bar along the strip, from Taco Boy to Snapper Jack’s to Terrapin Cafe to … well, that depended on your tolerance. The day ended around 7 p.m. at the Holiday Inn, where the crowd — a pretty laid-back group of imbibers, as would be expected of Folly — gathered to dance and collect raffles. Who cares if we were in bed by 9 p.m.? At least we missed the nasty weather. —Erica Jackson
Stay cool. Support City Paper.
City Paper has been bringing the best news, food, arts, music and event coverage to the Holy City since 1997. Support our continued efforts to highlight the best of Charleston with a one-time donation or become a member of the City Paper Club.